Texas Candidate's Misstatements Cloud Campaign

AUSTIN, Texas—Gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, who is vying to become the first Democrat elected statewide here since 1994, finds herself on the defensive amid criticism that she has exaggerated her story of being a single mom who rose from a trailer park to Harvard Law School.

Ms. Davis, a state senator who drew national attention last year when she waged a marathon filibuster of Texas legislation that restricted abortions and...